Surfers save man from drowning in Newport Beach

The surfer couldn't make out the black object at first, but when he heard his friend Mike Frank yell "man down," the surfers immediately went into action.

The black object floating at Blackies surf break today about 2:30 p.m. was a man in his wetsuit, face down in the water as waves hit him. Finocchi and Frank grabbed the man, identified as Robert Robb, and brought him to shore.

"He was out, not breathing. His eyes are open, but his eyes aren't there," Finocchi recalled, still shaken. "We're carrying him out to the sand, and he's just not breathing."

A nurse on the sand felt for a pulse, and crowds came to help.

"A lot of people responded when we got him on the sand. Surfers were all over it. It was just nice people stepped up. Everybody got out of the water to make sure he was OK," Finocchi said.

Finocchi turned Robb to his side. Finocchi patted his back, and water started flowing out.

"There was white foam, cups of it. Then his mouth started to jerk for a moment and one of the guys said 'he has a pulse,' Finocchi recalled.

The surfer opened his green eyes, and as lifeguards and the ambulance came, he regained consciousness. He was taken to Hoag Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Newport Lifeguard Battalion Chief Rob Williams said it's unclear whether it was a surf-related injury, or a pre-existing medical condition that caused Robb to go unconscious.

"The nurse said we did the right thing, because he's alive," Finocchi said. "All the people at Blackies wish him well, we just want him to recover. There are people who want to see him have a speedy recovery."

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